A Favorite Holiday
by itshowyoulive
Summary: John doesn't realize his holiday has everything in common with a famous song.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: This story is based on a song. I'm sure you can figure out which one so I'm not telling. In my world Johnny grew up in a loving family and still has living parents. The show doesn't make it clear one way or the other what his family background is outside of being at least part Native American and growing up on a reservation. I took a few liberties and gave him some additional heritage that has helped shape his life and gave him some background to look back on. Merry Christmas, hope you enjoy my little romp through Johnny's life at Christmas time. _

John Gage walked out of his apartment bright and early on the morning of December 23rd. It was a typically gorgeous California morning and if it hadn't been for the decorations littering lawns and street corners all over town one would never guess that Christmas was only days away. John should have been happy, the schedule fell in their favor this year and it was one of the rare occasions when they would have Christmas Eve and Christmas day off. Unfortunately, he was actually feeling more than a little sad. Because of the perfect timing his parents had arranged a rare visit to Southern California and he'd been looking forward to it for months. The phone call last night should have been finalizing the plans for when he'd pick them up and the details for the rest of the trip. Instead they had called to tell him that a series of storms were shutting down the airport and they wouldn't be able to get out until closer to the New Year and would completely miss the holiday. They would still come, just not for Christmas. John's favorite holiday was ruined.

The rain that had moved through the night before was just a small part of the storm front that was the source of his disappointment. Here in California you could barely tell what was headed towards the Northwest and Midwest states. In Los Angeles the rain was bitterly cold, but had come and gone in one night. This morning one could tell that a storm had come through only because of the puddles that had been left behind.

Walking down the steps from his building towards his Land Rover Johnny noticed one more sign of the storm and stopped to appreciate it. The winter had been so mild this year that some of the bushes lining the sidewalk still had roses on them. The storm the night before had left raindrops sitting on the petals of the remaining roses. It was a beautiful thing to see and John wished he had his camera so he could snap a few pictures. Roses were his mother's favorite flower and she had always loved to see raindrops on roses. He reached out to touch some of the silver drops, but quickly pulled back his finger when a hidden bee suddenly emerged and stung his finger.

"Ow! Stupid bee, what'd you do that for?" John paused his bee driven tirade when he realized how foolish he must look yelling at the rose bushes. Using his uninjured hand he pulled his wallet out of his pocket, removed his credit card and used it to scrape the stinger from the wound. Looking at his watch he decided he'd best hurry along to the station and put ice on it after he got there or he'd be late.

Arriving at the station John quickly changed without engaging in conversation with any of the others in the locker room. Exiting as soon as he finished changing he walked to the day room and headed straight for the freezer in search of some ice. Chet watched as his sometimes nemesis made a beeline for the freezer.

"Fine, don't say good morning, didn't your mother teach you any manners?"

John didn't hear and therefore didn't answer, this made Chet more determined to get his attention.

"Hello! Anyone in there?" When he still didn't get a response Chet walked over to the refrigerator and stuck his bushy mustachioed face into the freezer section right next to John's face.

"What'cha doin'." Chet whispered into John's ear.

Chet got the reaction he'd been seeking when John jumped and slammed the top of his head on the inside of the freezer.

"Dang it, Chet. What are you doing sneaking up on a person like that? I've probably got a concussion now."

"Yeah, with your soft head, you probably do. What are you looking for in there?"

"I need some ice. How come we don't have any ice?"

"C-shift hosted the winter open house yesterday. Guess they used the last of the ice. Why do you need ice, you haven't had time to go on a run and get bashed up."

"Got stung by a bee," John was almost pouting by now. The phone call, the bee, his aching head and the lack of ice were all indicating that this was going to be a horrible day.

Roy entered the day room just in time to hear the part about a bee sting. Walking over to his partner he held out his hand demanding, "Let me see."

"Roy, it's just a sting, I already got the stinger out, I just wanted to put some ice on it too, I'll just go run it under cold water and see if that keeps the swelling down."

John turned away from his partner without showing him the injured digit. Roy looked at Chet and gave him a 'what did you do' look and was returned a perfectly innocent 'I did nothing, he's your problem' look. It was starting to look like it would be a long day all the way around.


	2. Chapter 2

Roll call came and went and the morning was a tad too quiet for anyone's liking. The fact that John Gage had very little to say that day, answering only when spoken to, had everyone a little on edge. John's moods sometimes went this way, but everyone liked it much better, though they might sometimes deny it, when the normally jovial Gage was indeed, jovial. The somber version was hard to work with and by mid-morning Roy had gotten more than one furtive 'talk to him' glance.

Everyone sighed with relief when the klaxons sounded them out for a dog bite.

John sat on his side, alternately watching the street signs, directing his partner and looking at his finger.

"You want to tell me what's wrong," Roy's voice broke the silence.

"It's nothing. Just got stung this morning."

"I know why your finger is bothering you, but what is the other thing bothering you. I know there is something else."

"You've been working with me too long partner, turn left, then right on the next street. I got a call from my parents last night."

"Well, that's good! They're still coming, right?"

"Wrong. By now they are snowed in and the series of storms coming will keep them snowed in for about a week."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Partner. I know you were looking forward to their visit."

"Yeah, nothing to be done. What the...," Johnny's voice drifted off about the same time Roy's decided his eyes could not be trusted. Surely he wasn't seeing what he thought he was seeing.

"I think we are here partner."

Turning the corner on to a well-manicured and tree lined street the partners were welcomed by a sight that was hard to imagine much less believe. No fewer than ten people, adults and children alike, were dashing up and down the street trying to catch what appeared to be a small horse. The horsey creature jingled as he ran and John noticed that he had what appeared to be a collar of sleigh bells around his neck. It made the entire scene a bit merrier and a lot more comical. Each time the group thought they had the animal cornered it would dodge and be loose again. Roy pulled the squad over to the curb well back from the melee and the engine slid in right behind. John was first out and approached the man who seemed to be most in charge of the chase.

"Hi, did someone call for help?"

"Hi, glad to see you all. Yeah, we called, but this isn't why we called, although Zeus is part of the problem. Dumb dog."

"That, that, thing is a dog?"

"Yeah, Zeus is a Great-Dane/Mastiff cross. Believe it or not Irish Wolfhounds are bigger, but probably not as dumb. Really, stupidest dog that ever walked the planet and a passel of people can't catch him."

"So, what exactly did Zeus do," Johnny felt like wincing as he asked.

Just then the monstrous creature charged past, mere inches from Johnny. John's instincts kicked in and he lunged for the beast, getting his arms around his neck, for a few seconds, before being shaken loose leaving Johnny face first on the side walk. The man walked over and gave him a hand up.

"Sorry about that. Zeus is fast and strong and thinks this whole thing is the best game ever."

"Is Zeus your dog?"

"Yeah, sorry. Hey, you okay. Those darn sleigh bells, what was my wife thinking letting the kids put those on him? Looks like they got you, too. By the way I'm John Walker, please don't laugh, it's John, just John."

Johnny couldn't help it, he laughed. "Nice to meet you John, I'm Johnny."

Johnny took a quick glance at his hand. The sleigh bells must have had a sharp edge somewhere because his hand was bleeding. Shaking his head at his bad luck he glanced around for his partner and saw him approaching with their gear.

"So, John. What do you need us for, you said it wasn't because of Zeus, but we never got around to the real reason."

"Oh, sorry. Little Billy Saunders was out here trying to help catch Zeus and got cut up, kind of like you, but worse. We aren't sure if it was those sleigh bells or if he accidentally got bit. Zeus isn't a biter, thank goodness, could you imagine a beast that size who liked to bite? Anyway, his mom took him inside to wait for you guys." Pointing at a nearby home he indicated exactly where their patient would be waiting. "You gonna be okay," he asked as John and Roy walked towards the home.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Good luck with Zeus."

"Thanks, I think we are going to need that luck."

Walking up the well-manicured path John took in the brightly colored decorations, the tree visible in the front window and the scent of a fire coming from the chimney.

Roy rang the doorbell and while it played a Christmas tune John took in the leather strap hanging on the front door. The strap was covered in sleigh bells. 'Great, more sleigh bells,' he killed the thought almost as soon as it came, wouldn't do any good to be so cynical so early in the day. When the door opened they jingled merrily and John remembered the sound of sleigh bells from his childhood. Some of his favorite winter memories were riding with his Uncle in the sleigh to go out and check on the horses wintering in the far pastures. Sitting under piles of warm blankets and watching the air freeze in front of their faces the sleigh bells jingled and jangled a merry tune as they slid over the frozen roads. The memory cheered John up a little from his earlier malaise and most recent injury. It took him a moment to realize he was still staring at the leather strap and that his partner was addressing the woman at the door.

"Good morning ma'am, I'm Roy and this is my partner John, you called for help?"

"Yes. That darn dog. I've told him a million times not to go near that dog when it gets out, but he never listens. Billy, my son, just loves that dog though. Well, that dog got out again and Billy tried to catch its collar so he could walk him home and that dog bit him, but maybe it was the sleigh bells. Wish we knew which one caused it. Dog has all his shots, I don't think the bells do."

Glad that she found a little humor in the situation the two men chuckled.

"Okay, let's see what we've got," Roy said. While he checked the boy's hand Johnny quickly wrapped his own hand in some gauze to be taken care of a little later.

Roy pointed out the jagged edges of the cut and a mark that looked distinctly tooth-like indicating that he felt it had probably been a bite, albeit an unintentional one, but that didn't rule out involvement of the sleigh bells and Billy might also need a tetanus shot. All that along with the distinct possibility that the deep cut would need stitches indicated that a nice, slow, ambulance ride was in order. By the time Roy had the child's hand bandaged and they were ready to leave the dog had been corralled into a helpful neighbor's back yard and the street was once again calm and peaceful.

John had just dispatched the ambulance and was watching as it drove down the road with the mother's car slowly following when he felt a tug on his pant leg.

"Mister, are you a fireman?"

Stooping down so that he would be as close to eye level with the very small child as possible Johnny answered, "Yes, but I'm also a paramedic."

"What's a para-para-parapedice?"

Johnny chuckled, "A paramedic also performs rescues and helps sick people. Do you need to be rescued?" He tacked on the last question as the child's eyes lit up at the mention of paramedics doing rescues.

"Not me mister, my kitten. She got scared when the dog and people were running all over the street and she crawled into one of those pipes that takes the rain off the roof and now she won't come out."

John looked at the child, held up one finger, saying "Let me check, kittens are a special circumstance. I'll be right back."

The small boy watched as his new found hero walked over to the tall man with the white stripe on his hat. He watched as John pointed his way and made signs with his hands that indicated he was talking about the stuck kitten. The little boy thought it was a probably okay to have hope when he saw the very tall and slightly mean looking man nod his head and wave his hand.

John came running back, "okay, show me where the kitten is, let's see what we can do."

"Yay! This way." The little boy grabbed John's hand and dragged him across a lawn.

John had to almost trot to keep up with the child, but the pipe in question was actually right next door to the house they had just left.

"She's in there mister."

John got down and didn't even have to look too hard, he could see the kitten's rear quarters and tail sticking from the tube.

"Well, she sure is stuck in there isn't she?" The pipe was just the typical aluminum tubing used for rain gutters on most homes, using his gloved fingers and the scissors from his belt Johnny was able to loosen the edges enough to slide the small kitten out of the trap. Once out he was able to see that the front half of the kitten was covered in mud.

"Well, well, what have we here? This hardly looks like a kitten, more like a ball of mud." Speaking more to the kitten than the boy, Johnny pulled a few squares of gauze from his box. Using his mouth to tear open the packages while holding the kitten firmly in one hand he started to wipe the mud from the kitten's face. "Can't even see your whiskers through all this mud can we? There now, that's looking a bit better."

Managing to remove most of the mess Johnny turned the kitten to hand it back to the child, "there you go one kitten, whiskers and all. Make sure she stays away from Zeus from now on and I'm sure she'll be fine."

Just as the child was saying "thanks, mister," Chet came over to see if the "rescue" was about wrapped up.

"Hey, John, they did teach you at the fire academy that firemen don't actually rescue kitties from trees and all that, right?"

"In case you didn't notice, it wasn't a tree, it was a rain gutter and what am I supposed to do? Leave that kid's kitten in a pipe for Christmas? What kind of Scrooge are you, Chet? Besides, you didn't see the whiskers on that kitten, cutest face ever."

"Well, um, hey, I'm not a Scrooge. I like whiskers on kittens as much as the next guy. Cap says it's time to go," Chet shook his head, wondering how on earth John got him to say he liked kittens. "Cap says we've got REAL work to do."

"Yeah, just gotta pick this stuff up. I'm gonna go get Roy at Rampart. See you guys back at the barn."


	3. Chapter 3

The men went their separate ways and John was only slightly chagrined when he found Roy waiting for him outside. Sliding over to the passenger side and letting Roy get behind the wheel, he explained, "see there was this kitten…," his voice drifted off again when he saw that his partner wasn't angry, but was actually laughing.

"I know, I called Cap to see what was taking so long and he told me. Rescuing kittens now?"

"Geez, you and Chet, what do you have against saving helpless kittens?"

"Nothing partner, after that fiasco with that beast running up and down the street I'll believe anything today. Let's get back so I can fix up that hand for you."

"Oh, I'd forgotten about this," Johnny held up his hand and noticed it was definitely looking the worse for wear. His hastily applied bandage was slightly bloody and very muddy. "It's not as bad as it looks. It was only a small cut."

"Yeah, well it's looking pretty gruesome now. It'll look a lot better with at least a clean bandage."

Unfortunately, before they got all the way back they were called out again, this time to a petting zoo at a Christmas tree lot.

"Looks like it's going to be an animal kind of day," Johnny spoke as he replaced the mike on its hook. "I'll take a second to wrap this again really fast when we get there and then we'll see what we've got, you'll have to wait a little longer before working your medic magic on me, Pally."

"Yeah, much longer and it'll be Morton working on that hand."

"No it won't."

"We'll see about that. You are up to date on tetanus right? Or do we need to make sure that is taken care of?"

"Yes, I'm up to date, remember that stairwell nail last month?"

Thankfully, the tree lot hadn't been far and that particular conversation came to an end. Exiting the squad the men were immediately met by a man dressed as a cowboy, from the tip of his Stetson down to the spurs on his leather cowboy boots.

"So glad you are here, this way guys," the man continued to explain as they walked. "My name's Zeke, this here is my lot, brought these trees all the way from Oregon myself. Well, it always helps get the people in if you have more than just the trees so this year we have a pony ride. This, here, one youngster didn't want to end his turn so his momma up and picked him up right off the pony and that was all well and good until he grabbed on to one of the stirrups. Got a pretty good grip on the thing, good enough his momma had to set him down and try for a better grip on her son. During that second that he was free he just shoved his whole arm right through the stirrup and now he's done gotten himself stuck fast."

Just as he finished explaining the trio rounded a corner and were met with a make shift corral with a ring of cream colored ponies set up in the middle. Four of the five ponies just stood there looking quite tame and perfectly suited to walking small children in circles. The fifth pony had a screaming child firmly attached to its saddle and wasn't looking too happy about the situation. The normally calm animal wasn't looking so calm at the moment. John started having misgivings about this situation. He'd worked among full sized horses for most of his life, but had no patience for ponies. They were too small to be of any proper use and all the ones he'd met were temperamental and fidgety.

"Do those stirrups detach from the saddles," John asked.

"Nah, my wife insisted that we get cheap saddles for these ponies, no time to be switching out stirrups or adjusting length anyway so she ordered saddles where they are just stuck on there all the time."

"Okay, I still think it'd be best to take the saddle off and work on the kid away from the ride. If he's good and stuck we might have to take the whole contraption in anyway, might as well save some time and trouble. Besides, that little pony is starting to look a bit agitated, best if we get everyone back from him as quickly as possible, give him some breathing space. Roy, you hold on to the boy, I'll get the saddle."

"Sounds like a plan partner."

Roy approached the screaming boy and tried to calm him down while surreptitiously getting a good hold on him. While the corral itself was fairly wide open and spacious, the circumstances required that everyone get up close and personal with the pony. In order to get to the cinch strap Johnny was forced to take up position near the pony's forequarters and a might too close to his head. Due to the child attached to the stirrup John had to work the cinch almost entirely by feel. There came a point however when he just couldn't get the strap loose like he needed it to be in order to remove the saddle. In order to get a better look at the situation he simply bent at the waist and tried to get a view around the body of the still screaming child. Unfortunately, the motion of bending over put a portion of John's anatomy far too close to the irritated pony's mouth, so the pony did what irritated ponies will do and bit. He bit hard. To add insult to injury he also chose to shift his weight and step on John's foot. John jumped away from the offensive beast, rubbing the sore spot, hopping on the uninjured foot and holding back a long string of words that the children present had surely never heard before.

Still holding the still screaming child Roy called out, "Hey, John, you alright?"

"Yeah, just got a new bruise and some sore toes is all. Boots did their job and saved my foot the worst of the damage, too bad I didn't wear my knight's armor today to protect the rest of me. Let's get this done with." John returned to the problem at hand and finally got the cinch strap unhooked, removed the saddle and walked Roy and the child over to one of the corral fences where the saddle was set to rest while the men went to work. A lot of petroleum jelly and a few applications of ice packs along with a bit of manipulation combined with elbow grease and the child and stirrup where finally two separate items once again. With the mother's promise to watch for complications and to take the boy to their doctor in case of any swelling or undue discomfort it was determined that this call was closed and they were once again headed back to the station.

"So, partner, do we need to swing by Rampart and have that looked at," Roy asked as soon as they were in the squad.

"No, I don't think he broke the skin. He was just telling me how ticked off he was. Pretty sure I'll have a nifty bruise, but don't think it's bleeding. My pants aren't even torn. Toes hurt at first, but no worse than if I'd been wearing tennis shoes and you stepped on them. Gotta love reinforced toes on boots, saved my feet from damage more than once. Dumb pony."

"Okay, but I'm still fixing that hand when we get back and you'll tell me if that bruise starts to hurt too much or if the toes start to hurt, right?"

"Right. Roy, you know, we expect the bumps and bruises. We have a very physical job and a lot of the things we do seemed specifically designed to tempt injury, but today…today just seems so personal. I don't know what it is, but it seems like the universe is out to get me today."

"I have to agree partner, you are getting kind of kicked around today, but some days are just like that, I don't think it is some cosmic plot to get you. I do understand why you would feel that way, though. We never finished discussing Christmas. You know you are always welcome to come to our house for both days. Joanne always likes when you come over, you keep the kids busy so she can get other stuff done. We decided to have a quiet Christmas this year so there won't be any other family members to compete with."

"Sounds nice, Roy, but I don't know. I was just really looking forward to Christmas with my parents. I haven't seen them for so long. Did you know that on my mom's side we are Austrian? Her parents came here to get away from Hitler's regime before the war started. Only a few traditions were handed down, but the one thing that we always did for Christmas dinner was schnitzel and spaetzle."

"Wait, say that last thing again, what's that?"

"You say it 'sh-pet-zelah", at least that's how we were taught to say it. They are a German noodle, almost more like a tiny dumpling, but they call them noodles. Mom was going to make it."

"Schnitzel, that's a piece of meat that's been breaded and fried, right?"

"Basically, yes. It can take a while to prepare, but that with the noodles and then my mom pours this terrific gravy with mushrooms in it over everything. It's something I've really come to miss being so far from home and not seeing my family very often."

"Does your mom make something special for dessert?"

"Mostly we have pie, but she'll usually make at least one apple strudel."

"You're kidding, right?"

"No, I know it sounds cliché, but yeah, her apple strudel is the best. She makes it with raisins and walnuts, the traditional way, and her crust is always so crisp, if you don't do it right it gets soggy and gross, hers is always perfectly crisp."

"Sounds like a nice tradition, Johnny. I'm sorry they can't make it. Please join us, at least on Christmas Eve, you know I'm actually being really selfish here. I could really use your help playing Santa."

"Well, if you put it that way and if I'll be expected to earn my keep then sure I'll be there Christmas Eve. Thanks for the offer." The conversation ended as the squad backed into the bay.


	4. Chapter 4

Cap heard the men arriving and stepped out of his office. "John, a package came for you in today's post. I put it on your bunk."

"A package? For me? Thanks, Cap."

"Hey, John, let's just step in there you can see what that's about while I fix up your hand," Roy steered him towards the dorm room.

Walking into the room Johnny could see a small package wrapped in plain brown paper and tied with twine sitting on his bunk. He approached the package almost like he expected it to explode, then picked it up and turned it all directions. Finally, he sat on the edge of his bed while Roy pulled a chair up close.

"Give me that hand partner," Roy held out his hand waiting for Johnny to hold out the injured limb. "Who's it from?"

Johnny set the package on one knee and held out his injured hand, while Roy unwrapped the soiled bandage he studied the postage label. "It's from my aunt. Wonder why she sent it to the station instead of my apartment?"

"Open it, maybe there's a clue inside."

It wasn't easy to do using just one hand, but John managed to get the string off the paper and then get the paper off the box. By the time he got that far Roy had finished cleaning and wrapping the cut on his hand and he was able to finish opening the box using both hands.

"There's a letter. Turns out she lost my apartment address and could only find the old one, she tried to call, but I must have been on shift. She couldn't get an answer. She didn't want to waste too much time trying to get my address because she wanted the package to get to me before the holiday so she just sent it here. Roy, I love the woman, she's like a second mom, but I swear she'd lose her head if it weren't attached." John looked up at his partner and shook his head and gave one of his small, almost whimsical, smiles.

"What'd she send?"

John held up a pair of dark blue, woolen mittens that looked like they would keep fingers nice and warm. "Guess she doesn't realize that it isn't nearly as cold here as it is back home, but I guess they could come in handy during trips to the mountains or those rare really chilly mornings we get during the winter. They sure are nice mittens. Wish I had an excuse to use them more often. I'll just go put this out in my car. I'll be right back."

Roy noticed the forlorn look that had returned to his partner's eyes. He'd didn't think he'd ever seen him so homesick. That's when an idea took hold and he hurried to get Cap's help before his partner returned.

The afternoon stayed fairly quiet for the men at the station. The squad had the odd call here and there, but the engine stayed in the barn all afternoon. Even the calls for the squad were fairly mundane and most didn't even require transport. Late afternoon found Marco carrying a large copper kettle into the station and placing it on the stove.

"Hey, guys, I've got dinner for tonight. Mama brought pozole and corn bread." While Marco went back outside to finish bringing in the food the men clustered around the steaming kettle taking in the heavenly smell of the soup inside.

"Ah, Marco, your mama's pozole is always welcome. For something I'd never heard of before working with you I can't imagine anyone making it better," Cap offered the thanks everyone was thinking.

"Mama knows pozole is my favorite and always makes it for me at Christmas. Everyone else wants tamales and chicken with mole, but mama knows pozole is my favorite so she always makes me some. She even used the pot I gave her for Christmas last year. Copper pots are preferred among some of the best chefs, but they are so expensive that most kitchens can't use them. I bought this pot for mama last Christmas and she uses it all the time, she loves it so much. I think bringing the pozole in this pot is her way of showing how much she loves it. She doesn't know it but she's getting another copper pan this year."

John walked over to Marco and put a hand on his shoulder, "Marco, make sure you give your mama a big hug from me, okay. Mamas are so special, you are lucky yours is so close. If I can't hug my own, I'll send a hug over to yours." Johnny smiled and then went and sat at the table.

The men thoroughly enjoyed their dinner and the evening continued on in the same quiet fashion as the day. It wasn't until after 10 o'clock that the squad was called out again for an unknown type rescue.

The address given brought them to a VFW hall, one of the larger ones John had ever seen, but rather a lot like any of them ever looked. A basic box on the outside with minimal signage indicating the building's purpose. The parking lot was the only exterior indication that anything special was happening there that evening. Among the cars in the packed lot sat several limousines and several very fancy smaller cars. John was sure he saw no fewer than three Rolls Royces and a Bentley scattered among Lincolns and Cadillacs.

"Dang, Roy, there is some sort of fancy shindig going on tonight, wonder what the problem is."

"Well, no time like the present to find out."

John's jaw nearly hit the floor as they went through the entrance. The interior of the building had been transformed into a winter wonderland. What appeared to be actual trees minus their spring foliage had been painted white and strewn with small white lights. The skeletal trees looked magical in the low light. It reminded him of what all trees looked like back home after there had been a particularly frigid snowfall. The ice clung to the branches and bark and the trees sparkle even in dim moon light. White table cloths covered dining tables scattered around the space. Blue lights illuminated a buffet table draped in glittery silver fabric. The lights came from above giving the appearance that the moon was shining on a table in the woods. Above everything, hanging from the ceiling was a flock of very real looking geese in flight to their warmer winter habitat. The blue lights struck them in the same way, giving the illusion of moonlight hitting their wings as they flew. The far end of the buffet table was decorated with a carved ice fountain. The ice had been carved to resemble a mountain and water flowed from it like a spring. Winter gave way to spring near the far end of the hall where a dance floor had been laid out and then surrounded with trees in full leaf. Green chaise lounges and low green couches were scattered around the edges of the dance floor, providing a comfortable place to rest between dances. Looking closely he noticed all the participants were boys and girls ranging from about 12 to about 18. John had never seen children dressed like these children. Every girl was wearing a version of a clean white gown. The youngest participants had knee length skirts and pink sashes, all the older girls were wearing full white ball gowns with blue satin sashes. Every boy looked alike in full tuxedo complete with black bow tie and black cummerbund. As his eyes grew accustomed to the dim lighting he realized that there were parents present, but seated at table and chairs set along the outside edges of the hall. It took a moment before the two men were noticed by a staff member. Hurrying over the young man started waving the men towards the area where winter turned to spring. As they got closer John realized that along with the ice mountain there had been ice trees too. One still stood and he could see the melting remnants of the other shattered on the floor. Discreetly, staff members were mopping up the dead ice tree. Their escort took them past the shattered ice to one of the green sofas where a girl, approximately 16 years old sat with her parents hovering near by and a tuxedoed boy looking on with a worried expression on his face.

"Hi, I'm John and this is my partner, Roy. What happened?"

"Hi, this is Christy, we're her parents. It seems there was a little accident. Fred there thought it would be funny to become a lumber jack tonight and managed to chop down the ice tree. Unfortunately, he didn't realize that Christy and her friends were standing right there. The other girls all got away when Christy took action and threw herself in front of the falling timber. We don't think there was any serious damage done, but she does have quite the goose-egg and her ankle hurts from when she tripped over one of her friends trying to get away from the ice. We were just going to take her home, but the organizers insisted she be seen. Probably terrified we'll sue. We won't, of course, boys will be boys, even cotillion boys. Fred has apologized profusely and feels terribly about the whole thing. His parents are letting him handle this on his own while they step back and observe, trying to teach some responsibility and all that, but we know he's already lost his car for a month. Seems quite reasonable, doesn't it Fred?"

"Yes, sir. It is very reasonable Mr. Reed, very reasonable. Again, I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean Christy to get hurt. Blasted stupid thing to do, don't know what got into me."

John pulled the attention back to Christy, "So, let's see what we've got here. Can you tell me where the ice hit you?"

"Back of my head and my right shoulder. Really, I'm feeling fine though."

"Let me take a little look. So, Christy, what kind of event is this anyway, I've never seen anything like it."

Christy let a giggle escape, "This, dear sir, is a cotillion. A form of torture created by overly cautious parents to teach their children proper etiquette and social graces, such as dancing a waltz instead of disco and eating with a shrimp fork instead of your fingers." She graced John with her most dazzling smile.

"Sounds fun. So this is where you get to show off all your acquired skills?"

"Don't you know it?"

"Christy!" John had to assume that came from her mother.

When Christy winced he wasn't sure if it was due to her mother's tone or the fact that he had found the goose-egg. "Did that hurt?"

"Just a little, that does smart. Mother's chastising me for using slang hurt a little more." She winked at John, telling him she wanted to keep the light tone of their conversation, maybe she thought it was helping keep her parents from worrying too much, maybe she just liked to flirt, Johnny wasn't about to ask which it was.

"Okay, you did take quite the hit to your head. I can see where the tree impacted your shoulder too. Your dress might need a little repair work back here. Sorry, it looks like a shard was sharp enough to actually cause a little cut back here. Nothing too serious, won't need stitches, but it should be cleaned and bandaged. I'm just going to take a little look in your eyes here." John flicked the pen light across her eyes and found the pupillary reactions to be perfectly normal. Then moved on to check her ankle and found it to be tender and swollen, but no deformity or sign of broken bones. "Roy, do have her other vitals?"

"Pulse 70, BP 120 over 80, respirations 18. All within normal ranges."

"Okay, here's the situation. Your vitals are all normal, that's good, it means your body isn't under any undue stress. You do have quite the goose egg, but no sign of concussion or other head injury except for the nifty bump. There is that cut to take care of, but it looks like the worst of your injuries is a sprained ankle. Overall, not too bad considering you got clobbered by a tree. My partner over there is already talking to our doctors at Rampart and I have a feeling they are going to want you to come in, courtesy of a nice, slow, quiet ambulance ride. They are pretty picky about taking pictures of injured ankles and goose eggs just to be extra certain that things are okay." Just then Roy scooted closer, put a hand on Johnny's arm to get his attention.

"Brackett wants pictures of her skull and ankle, non-code-r and no IV."

Addressing the girl and her parents John said, "Just like I said. Parents, you have final say here. What do you want to do?"

"The doctor Brackett you are talking to on the radio, that wouldn't be Doctor Kelly Brackett would it," Christy's father asked.

"Most definitely is. Does that make a difference?"

"Weird story, Kel and I went to college, he was pre-med, I was business, but we had several classes together and belong to the same fraternity."

Christy piped up, "Well that settles it then, it would be bad manners to not go visit pop's old pal. Let's go," and she cheerily waved her hand forward.

Johnny chuckled at the girl's antics. "The ambulance is on the way, we'll get you loaded up and on your way. Parents, one of you can ride with her and the attendants or you can both follow along in your own car. Whatever works best for you."

Mom spoke up, "If it's okay, I'd like to ride with Christy. Paul will you bring the car?"

"Sure dear and then we'll have a way to get home when we're done."

Shortly the ambulance arrived and carried off Christy and her parents. In the meantime John had cleaned and bandaged the small cut on her shoulder after her mother helped with the zipper and got some of the frills out of the way.

John and Roy stood at the doors of the squad having sent the family on their way. No IV meant they were free to return to the station and get some rest.

"Roy, I have never in my life seen anything like that party. Reminded me of home in some ways though. Guess when you don't have to shovel snow every morning you start to miss it some. Thank goodness we didn't have any ice trees though, those seem rather vicious." Johnny was laughing at the idea of entire trees made of ice.

Roy just shook his head and got behind the wheel. "John, I know you are coming tomorrow night, but will you spend the day with us on Christmas too? I have something planned, but I want it to be a surprise."

"Sure, Roy. I won't ruin your plans. Don't have anything to do anyway. Let's go home, I'm tired."

"You got it, pal."

The night passed quietly for the most part. A small rubbish fire and a baby who couldn't wait any longer kept the men from sleeping through the night, but Christmas Eve dawned bright and clear. The men wished each other a Merry Christmas and headed for whatever plans they each had. Chet was going skiing. Mike was leaving town to spend time with his parents in Santa Barbara. Cap was going home, the in-laws were arriving sometime today and he still had items on his honey-do list. John went home for a nap and Roy had a list of things his wife still needed after he called last night and gave her an assignment.

"See you about 5," Roy asked as John climbed into his Rover.

"I'll be there."

"Spend the night?"

"Sure, why not, I don't have anything better to do."

"Bring your new gloves and warm clothes."

"You got it. What are you planning anyway?"

"It's a surprise."

John just shook his head as he started the ignition and drove away. As Roy watched him go he thought about the look he still saw in his partner's eyes. John had very expressive eyes and everyone could tell if he was happy or sad based entirely on his eyes. He could tell his partner was still sad about the change in plans. He started to get excited for his plans and hoped his surprises would help change that look.


	5. Chapter 5

John arrived at the DeSoto's exactly on time, bearing two bottles of wine and a case of beer.

Roy ushered him in out of the chill air, "You made it. Want me to take those?"

"Yeah, these are for dinner," he held out the wine. "Didn't know what we were having so there's a red and a white, you choose." Holding out the case of their favorite beer he added, "these are for later, figure they might help Santa get his job done."

"Thanks partner, I'll add them to the ones already chilling, I had the same idea. Come on into the dining room, Jo's just about done with dinner." Turning and facing up the stairs Roy yelled, "Kids, wash up, Johnny's here we'll eat as soon as you get down here."

They could both hear the pounding of small feet as they rushed for the washroom and then as they came charging down the stairs, both kids eager to spend time with their dad's partner.

Little Jennifer DeSoto launched herself at John before she got to the last step. "You came! I'm so happy you are spending Christmas with us. Mommy made a special dinner and everything!"

"She did? What did she make?"

Roy interjected, "Jen we talked about this, it's a surprise, remember?"

"I 'member. I didn't say anything."

"Well, then let's go eat and find out what the surprise is. Hey 'ya Chris. Ready to eat?"

"I'm so starved I could eat an elephant," Chris laughed heading for the dining room.

Joanne called from the kitchen, "Go ahead and have a seat everyone I'll bring the food in just a second. Roy, hun, could you help? Thanks"

Roy made sure the kids settled down and then went to help Joanne. It was only a moment before they both came back carrying trays and bowls of food.

"John, I hope you like dinner. I've never made most of this before, it does smell good," Joanne stepped up to the table placing a large platter in front of John while Roy brought a bowl. Joanne went back and brought back a couple more bowls. When they were done loading the table there was a feast laid out and John was fighting back emotion he definitely did not want to show in front of his partner. Before him on the table was a platter of Wiener schnitzel, spaetzle, mushroom sauce, a green salad, and green bean casserole.

"Jo, you made all this? You did this for me? You really shouldn't have. This meal takes a lot of work. How did you…" his question faded away.

"First, I did it because you have become part of our family and we wanted to share in some of the traditions you have for Christmas. This is the fifth year you've spent Christmas with us in one form or another and we've never used one of your traditions. We feel terrible about that."

John interrupted, "But, it's your Christmas, you should use your traditions."

"John," Roy put up a hand to stop him. "Like Jo said, you are part of the family now, your traditions matter too."

"Thank you, I don't know what to say. How'd you know what to make and how to make it?"

Jo answered, "Well, that part was easy, I called your mom. You gave us the number years ago so we could call if we needed to tell them anything. I just used it for a good reason this time. You should have heard her, she thought I was calling because you got hurt. She was so happy that I was calling for a good reason she gave me the recipes and all the tips I would need on how to cook all this stuff. Those noodles were tricky enough, if she hadn't told me about the trick of pushing the dough through a colander to form the noodles I probably would have been working on them still," Joanne's eyes were twinkling and she was smiling so that John wouldn't think she was complaining.

"Yeah, mom has a special press she uses, but I've seen her use the colander trick when we had traveled and she didn't have it. This is amazing. I can't believe you did all this."

The flat look was gone from John's eyes and Roy knew that part one of his plan had been a huge success. He owed Joanne big for this one, but she had done it gladly. She liked John as much as he did and understood how disappointing it would be to have plans he'd looked forward to for so long suddenly change. Later plates were finally pushed back and the mountain of food was nearly gone. There'd be enough for a lunch or two, but most of it had disappeared.

"Jo, that was the best dinner I've ever had," Roy rubbed his stuffed belly as leaned back in his chair. "We are going to have to have this again. Who knew German food was so delicious?"

"Jo, you really outdid yourself. It was as good as my mom makes. I think I won't need to eat until next year. I ate so much I don't think I can move."

"Glad I did the meal justice. I wasn't sure about the noodles, did you know they have nutmeg in them? I'd never heard of nutmeg in noodles before, but they were perfect with the sauce and the schnitzel. It did take some time to put everything together, but I agree, the results were definitely worth it. Thanks, John, for giving us a reason to try something new. That was very delicious, if I say so myself," her eyes twinkling she pushed away from the table and started collecting dirty dishes. John pushed up too and started collecting dishes on his side of the table.

"Oh, no you don't. Sit back down, better yet, you and Roy go sit out in the living room, get a fire started, light the tree, turn on some good music. Go relax and enjoy yourself."

"But, you did so much, the least I can do is help with the dishes," Johnny protested.

"I know and normally I'd be in full agreement, but this is part of your surprise, no helping with this tonight. Tonight you and your partner get to just go sit and be lazy for once."

John came around the table, put one arm around Joanne's shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "Thanks, Jo. Roy is a lucky, lucky man. Come on partner, let's follow orders."

"Right behind you partner." It was Roy's turn to take his wife in both arms and give her a kiss, not on the head, but a much better spot. "John's right. I am a lucky, lucky man. Thank you, Jo. You did a great thing tonight. I'll have to show you later how much I appreciate it." He winked at her and waggled his eyebrows before going in the kitchen and getting two beers from the fridge before joining his friend in the living room.

The evening passed pleasantly, the children chattering about what they might find the next morning, the adults basking in the glow of good friendship and a nice warm fire. It was one of the most enjoyable evenings John could remember having in a long, long time. As he sat in the comfortable room, watching the flames dance in the fireplace he thought about just what a lucky man he was. Soon it was time for the kids to head to bed and start dreaming of sugar plums, fairies and reindeer on rooftops. While Joanne supervised baths and told stories the two men retired to the garage where Roy had several projects waiting. Working as the efficient team they were it wasn't long before they had Chris' bike, Jennifer's toy kitchen and Joanne's new bookshelf assembled.

"Roy, thanks for tonight. I really appreciate it. I know I told Jo you were lucky for having her, but I'm doubly lucky, I have both of you. You're good friends. You've really helped to turn a disappointment into something great. Thanks."

"No problem partner, let's go warm up, it's cold out here. We'll make sure everyone is asleep and then bring everything inside, then we need to get some shut eye too. We've got another big day tomorrow."

"What's going on tomorrow," Johnny thought he'd give getting an answer a try, just in case the beers, cold and late hour had loosened his partner's tongue.

"Nope, not gonna happen, Pally. You are just going to have to wait. It's a surprise and you'll find out tomorrow. The kids don't even know about this part, it's a surprise to them too. Come on, I think there is one more beer in our future while we warm up by the fire and wait for everyone to be asleep so we can finish up."

The hour was quite late by the time the DeSoto household completely surrendered to Morpheus, and quite early when the shrieks of happy children brought the adults out of their sound slumber. It didn't take long for all the presents to be unwrapped and for the pile of trash to be deep enough to hide Jennifer. Everyone sat in their spot with a very satisfied look on their face. Joanne loved her new bookcase from Roy and the special illustrated copy of Alice in Wonderland from Johnny, she had mentioned earlier in the year that it was her favorite childhood story and he'd remembered and tracked down the special copy for her. Roy loved his new table saw from Joanne and the new watch from Johnny. Roy's work watch had been broken last month during a particularly tricky rescue. He hadn't had a chance to replace it and was using his nice, dress watch. John knew how much that watch meant and didn't want anything to happen to it so he'd replaced the work watch with a really nice version with a light for when they were working in the dark. John was thrilled with the dark room supplies that Roy and Joanne had given him. Buying everything at once was too expensive and he'd been buying things piece by piece as he could. Roy and Joanne had bought the last few items he hadn't gotten yet. He was finally ready to set up his own darkroom, he couldn't wait to shoot a roll of film and develop the shots. Chris was busy using his new dump truck to push pieces of wrapping paper around the room and Jen was pretending to make breakfast at her new kitchen. It had been a hugely successful Christmas.

After just enjoying the scene around him for quite a while Roy finally stretched his arms and back, stood up and announced, "We aren't done yet. There is one more surprise out in the garage, everyone go see what it is, you too John." Joanne smiled at her husband and waited for the explosion she knew would be coming. The couple slowly followed behind their children and best friend out to the garage. Propped up against the wall were a sled, an oversized inner tube and a large plastic disc with rope handles on each side. A paper sign above each item indicted their respective owners. The sled was labeled Jennifer, the tube was labeled Chris and the disc was labeled Johnny. John was the first to turn around and look at Roy and Joanne with a question on his face. They lived in Los Angeles, California. L.A. proper did not get snow. Period. It just wasn't something that happened, sure one might wake up in the morning and find frost covering rooftops and lawns and there was the extremely rare day you might need to scrape some frost off your car window before driving, but there was no use for these items here. However, he was fully aware the recent weather had brought record snow fall to the mountains.

"Roy? Is this the surprise you mentioned?"

"Sure is, Pally. Hey kids, John, everyone hurry and get dressed, we are going to the snow today! Come on, kids your clothes are on your beds. Put on EVERYTHING your mom laid out, it's going to be colder than you've ever felt, but if you want a chance to use these you gotta go get dressed. You too partner, make sure you bring your warm woolen mittens."

John was nearly as excited as the kids as he ran into the house to put his warmest gear on and get ready for the mountains. Joanne busied herself getting dressed and packing the car with extra blankets, a picnic lunch and bag with towels and extra socks and change of clothes for the two kids. Soon the family and John were loaded into the DeSoto station wagon with the snow gear in the back and they were on their way to Mt. Baldy to enjoy the snow.

Slightly over an hour later the group stumbled from the car and smiled at the frosty winter wonderland that greeted them.

"You know, Roy, that dance thing the other night did a decent job pretending to be a winter scene, but nothing beats the real thing." Stooping over he scooped up a handful of the crisp powder and slowly started patting it into a smooth ball.

"Oh, no, don't you even think about it. Uh, uh. Not me partner, you just put that down right now…"

As Roy sputtered and stuttered his way through his pleas for mercy John slowly advanced, tossing the ball into the air, catching it and tossing it again, getting a feel for how well it was packed before finally cocking his arm back and giving his partner a few moments to collect his final thoughts he let go just as his partner turned to flee the now obvious threat to his personal safety.

"Gaaah," Roy cried as the ice sphere hit him right between the shoulder blades. "That's it partner, you asked for it, now it's WAR! Who's on my side?" Chris quickly ran to his dad's side while Jenny ran to John's. Joanne was the wisest of them all and sat in the car laughing while her clan wreaked havoc on the mountain with their snowball fight. Before long every participant had snow all over them, clinging to their hats, gloves, noses and eyelashes. The men showed the children how to shake the snow loose and brush it off so that they wouldn't get too wet too soon and then unloaded the sledding gear from the back. They found a suitable hill for Jenny and Chris to learn how to use their new snow gear and Johnny climbed to the top with the children, helping them get settled before sending their device gliding down the hill to be stopped by Roy waiting at the bottom. Soon they were clamoring for a longer, steeper hill and after a few test runs even Johnny was happily sliding down the snow covered hillside. Roy and Joanne found a nearby rock, brushed the snow off and enjoyed watching the fun from their viewpoint. Johnny was having as much fun as the kids, but stopped when his disc slid him right into a snow drift, half burying him in the snow. Extracting himself, laughing the entire time, he propped his disc against a tree and excused himself for a minute. Running back to the car he pulled out his camera and spent the next hour taking pictures of the DeSoto's enjoying the snow. He knew he got some really good shots of the kids and a great candid of Roy and Joanne looking at each other, their faces full of the joy and love that they found in sharing their lives with their friend and children. He couldn't wait to get home and develop them. He would frame several of them and give them to Roy and Joanne in thanks for the wonderful day they had given him. Shortly after he'd finished off a roll of film and tucked it deep in a pocket to keep it warm, the children walked up to their parents shivering and stuttering, "we-we-we're so-so-so co-o-o-old."

Joanne stood from her perch saying, "Okay guys come on. I've got hot chocolate in the car, let's go warm up and eat a sandwich and then if you want you can play a little more before we go home."

The frozen group trudged back to the car where Joanne handed out towels to help brush off snow and then to sit on so that the seats of the car wouldn't get soaked from the snow clinging to their clothes. After warming up with some food and hot cocoa it was back to the snow for a bit more fun. Now that the kids, including Johnny, had used most of their energy sledding it was time for some snow angels and then they built a snowman. Joanne had filled a bag with scraps of fabric and old items that had been destined for the donation bin. When they were done they had created a monster of a snowman, seven feet tall wearing an old straw hat, complete with carrot nose. Coal wasn't something that was used much in Southern California so instead they had used the briquettes that Roy put in the barbeque when he was grilling. John loaded another roll of film and snapped off a few more pics of the kids before it was time to go. Finally, the cold and exhausted crew climbed into the station wagon. Joanne pulled out the spare socks, collected the sodden shoes and made everyone trade for nice, warm, dry socks. They burrowed under warm blankets while the heater warmed up the car. It was only moments before the children were out cold, leaving just the adults to carry on a conversation.

"Roy, Joanne. Thanks so much for yesterday and today. Two days ago I thought this would be the worst Christmas ever, but you two turned that all around and it has been a Christmas I will never forget. Thanks."

"Hey, it's what family does for each other," Roy responded.

"Yeah, but you went above and beyond, you've filled the last two days with so many of my favorite things. If it weren't for the big bruise where I got bit by a pony I would have totally forgotten about what had me so down two days ago."

"Well, it ain't over yet, Junior. When we get home there is an apple strudel waiting for us. Nothing like your mom's, we got it from a bakery we found, but after we warm it up in the oven and add ice cream on the side, it should finish off this holiday nicely."

"That it will, Pal," and John drifted off thinking of sleigh bells, schnitzel, and snowflakes.

Just before he totally fell asleep he whispered, "Merry Christmas."

The End

_Disclaimer: Just to be different I'll put this at the end. I don't own the boys of 51, that honor goes to Universal/Mark VII. I also don't own the idea behind the song that inspired this romp. That belongs to who knows whom, but the song was written by the inimitable duo Rodgers and Hammerstein. No money is being made and no offense meant. It's just a bit of fluff that was in my ear. _


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